


The First Winter

by tehmoonofficial



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: AU where Dolores is a real person, Apocalypse fun times, Death, F/M, Five dies but comes back to life, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 20:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21185687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehmoonofficial/pseuds/tehmoonofficial
Summary: Telephone poles stuck out from the snow at weird angles. Buildings crumbled like oatmeal cookies. Beneath the piles of packed snow, there was an asphalt road, and they traversed through the middle of it. Streetlights bent like pretzels. The hell around them was enough to steal what little breath they had left. Thank God neither of them were asthmatic. Without the same amount of sunlight, gigantic amounts of snow fell onto the city. Blackened cars were buried under feet of frozen water. Dolores was used to the cold, but nothing like this.





	The First Winter

The cold bites like a vicious dog. It seeps through anything and everything and no coat could _ possibly _protect the two kids from this weather. Their breath hangs in the air in front of them like smoke. Not like there isn’t enough smoke already. Autumn, dry and full of ash, had taken care of that. Wildfires spread like--well, wildfire.

“Five,” Dolores begins. Her eyes are distant, glassy. Red and puffy from the bitter December. Or was it January? They had lost track. It didn’t matter, anyway.

He didn’t reply. His eyes were fixed on his boots as they trekked through dense snow. The typically white substance was grey and brown this year.

  
“Five,” she tried again. His name carried some urgency with it. 

He sucked in a gasp of sharp air, shocked from whatever he was focusing on, and looked up from his shoes at her. “What? We’re not supposed to be talking because-,”

“Because we’ll lose moisture, I know.” Dolores sighed and slid her mittens into the pockets of her winter coat. A duffel bag hung loosely off her shoulder. She still felt bad for taking things from a department store without paying, but like Five had said, money didn’t exist anymore. There was no one to pay and no one to lose money when they took stuff from that store. “But it’s so quiet here.” 

She looked away for a second at the horizon. Telephone poles stuck out from the snow at weird angles. Buildings crumbled like oatmeal cookies. Beneath the piles of packed snow, there was an asphalt road, and they traversed through the middle of it. Streetlights bent like pretzels. The hell around them was enough to steal what little breath they had left. Thank God neither of them were asthmatic. Without the same amount of sunlight, gigantic amounts of snow fell onto the city. Blackened cars were buried under feet of frozen water. Dolores was used to the cold, but nothing like this.

“It’s quiet because we’re the only ones here.” Five clenched his jaw. The stress of it all weighed down on him; it was obvious with his distant expression. 

Her boots stopped. “I just want to forget that for once!” Her eyes met his again.

“Don’t you... get it?” Five’s eyes narrowed. His voice was suspiciously slow and clumsy. “We _ can’t _. We’re stuck here until the end of everything, and no one will even be around to care when we’re eventually gone.” His words lingered in the air, literally. The white cloud between them was almost enough to make it so she couldn’t see him.

“_ I’ll _be around.” Dolores’ statement was sure. She set a hand down on his shoulder and he shrugged it away.

“We need to keep walking south,” he mumbled, averting his gaze. “Maybe we can beat the next snowstorm.” 

She stared at him sympathetically for another second before he started off into the snow again. 

-

They walked in silence for hours. During the day, ash and plumes of smoke covered the overcast sky. Even if there was a ray of sunlight, it would have been blocked by the gloomy smog. But at night, the world above them was tawny black and the moon was nowhere to be seen. Right before sunset, they found the highway exit, and started onto the long stretch of road in front of them. 

Five shuffled and suddenly fell into a drift of snow.

Dolores turned around, squinting through the darkness. “Five…?”

  
“Shit.” His voice was clearer than it had been in days. 

Dolores rushed over and went onto her knees. The snow pushed against her winter coat and she didn’t care as it melted against her legs. She went to help him up and tried to study his face by the nonexistent moonlight. The dazed expression was gone.

“I-I didn’t mean to trip.” He stammered. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean t---,”

“It’s--it’s alright, calm down. This… this is probably a panic attack.” 

“No, no, it feels _ different _ , and it has for weeks now.” He squeezed his eyes shut, decided he didn’t like it, and opened them again. Dolores’ face looked back at him with concern. “I didn’t want to tell you. But… I was cold, _ too cold _, and now I’m not. I’m boiling hot, and it’s just so fucking…,” he trailed off. Off came his gloves and he dragged his hands down his face. “It’s too hot. I did it wrong. I shouldn’t have---I shouldn’t’ve, I---,” he gasped for air. 

She wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back. His hands were warm, like he said. Something in Dolores’ gut told her this was bad. _ Really _bad. 

“Let’s just camp out here, huh?” She tried to keep her voice light and comforting. He nodded weakly in response, and she sat down. The duffel bag she carried thumped against the packed snow. “We’ll spend the night here, and then when we’re both feeling better in the morning, we can keep going.”

He nodded again, his chin digging against her shoulder. 

-

Flames from the campfire were the only source of light. They danced on top of newspapers in a pit that Dolores had dug out of the snow. Five’s gloves were back on, even though it was obvious with his grimace that he was still piping hot.

Hypothermia. That’s the word he muttered under his breath when he thought she wasn’t listening. Severe hypothermia.

“Let me give you my coat.” Dolores’ delivery was firm. 

  
“No.” He glared at her. “You need it. I’m not taking your coat.” 

“You have hy-,” she stopped suddenly. The word was just a word, that’s it. So why couldn’t she say it? “You’re sick,” she tried a different wording. “Just let me help.”

“If _ I’m _ sick, and _ you _become sick, what’s going to happen? The last people on Earth are gone from a fucking snowstorm?” 

Dolores hesitated. Thoughts rushed in her head as the fire crackled in front of them. 

Five saw the change in her expression; it was something sadder, darker than before. Like with two sentences, he had snuffed the sparkle out from her eyes.

“We have that blanket,” he spoke up. “I---I can try that.” 

“It’s not going to be enough.” Her gaze was caught by the fire. Her voice was full of fear; fear she didn’t try to hide anymore. The fear of being alone. The fear of her only friend---before _ or _after the apocalypse---going away. Gone. Forever. Her eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

“Dolores,” he tried again. No response.

She blinked. Five noticed the movement and crawled over from his spot at the other side of the fire to her. She turned her head slightly to look at him. This time, her mouth didn’t open at all. Not feeling like talking. 

“Hey,” he said softly. He reached out his gloved hand to her. She took it limply, blinking again. “We have that blanket.” And hope. “We just have to believe that it’s enough.” He squeezed her hand. 

Dolores took in a deep breath. She swallowed, and the tears stung as they faded away. “Okay.” 

“Okay,” repeated Five. 

-

Morning came, and it barely looked any different than nighttime.

Dolores’ eyes fluttered open and she sat up, the sound of her shifting coat, the blanket, and crunching snow the only noise.

“G’morning,” she mumbled. Her knuckles moved to her eyes to rub them. Then, she registered the fabric on her hands and the cold beneath her. _ Oh _. She was still here. Still in the apocalypse. 

Normally, he said a “Good morning” back. Even if they both lost moisture from talking, they exchanged greetings. It was how they stayed sane.

Normally, that’s how they started their day. 

_ He must still be asleep _ ** _, _ **thought Dolores as she gently pushed the blanket away from herself. The duffel bag lay unzipped on her left. On her right, Five was silent, tangled in the grey blanket that had originally been white. His eyes were closed in a way that looked peaceful for once. 

Normally, his face was scrunched from nightmares about before the apocalypse that he never spoke of.

Normally. 

-

“What the _ fuck _did you just say to me?” 

The monotone girl takes in a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I said you’re _dead_, dammit. Wait. I _can _damn you. You’re really lucky I haven’t.”

“No, no no no no no.” Five paces. His winter boots crunch silver leaves. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We had the _ blanket _and the fire--,”

  
“You really think _ that _was going to save you? You were dead!” She threw up her hands in exhaustion. 

He squinted at her. “How do I know this isn’t just some ridiculous dream?” 

“Your name is Five Hargreeves. You were born a girl, given the name Jennifer, and then decided to keep your number name until you figured things out.”

“That’s just a fact about me, dumbass. My subconscious could’ve remembered that and used it to prove to me that I’m ‘awake’ right now.” He did air quotes.

The girl froze. Seconds later, she pushed the kickstand of her bike out and let it rest on its own. “Did you just call _ God _a dumbass?” 

“You’re supposed to be _ God _?!” 

“Not supposed to be! Am! Am God!” 

Five stared at her with suspicion. She sighed. 

“Look, believe me or not, your _ girlfriend _ is back there, alone. And we kinda need you for the timeline.”

His jaw dropped open to argue. “Not gir-,”

“Whatever, call her whatever you want. _ I _ call it denial. Can we go back to the point of you _ not dying _?” 

“It’s not like I intended to!” 

“Well, you went and did anyway.” 

“Fuck you,” he spat.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Do _ all _you Hargreeves have to try and fight me like this? Can’t a single one of you be a pacifist?” 

His gut twisted. “You mean--,”

“Look, in this version of the timeline, yes. They’re all dead. But, as you can see, I’m working on it! Right? _ You’re _here. We’re going to do things over, in like, forty-five years or so.” 

Five scoffed. “I’d prefer it if you sent them back.” 

Her face fell from argumentative to deadpanning. “No.” 

He drew his arm back to punch her, and then he woke up. 

-

Five’s ears rang with words unsaid as he bolted upright from the snow. 

“Five! Holy shi--,” Dolores began.

Five tackled her in a hug. 

There was a beat of silence, shock, and adrenaline. 

“I had the weirdest dream,” whispered Five. 

She raised an eyebrow. “Alright then. You looked kind of calm to me.” 

Abruptly, he pulled away from the hug. Dolores continued to look stupefied. 

“So,” Five began. It was a word that summarized everything that had happened for weeks, months. 

“So,” Dolores repeated. 

“We should get going.” He stood and brushed off the snowpants he was wearing. “The clouds were kind of foreboding last night--,”  


“We could stay,” Dolores counters. “There’s that department store with all those supplies. It’s not as much of a walk as, say, Georgia.” Her eyes turned to the sky for a second, then back to Five. “The clouds don’t look that bad anymore.”

He copied her movement. The sky was actually… a washed-out blue? As if someone had taken an eraser and gotten rid of the ash and snow clouds. Dolores was right. 

“I have a feeling things will be easier for us from now on.” The dream came back to him like a hazy mirage in a desert. Everything was black and white, and there was a girl, and something about forty-five years…

Dolores’ twinkle was back. “I have a feeling you’re right.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the fic!! If so, please kudos and comment! You can find me on Tumblr as a shitposter at @tehmoonofficial!


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